The
United States dollarUnited States dollar is the currency in use. Financial information
can be expressed in U.S. dollars and in Salvadoran colón, but the
colón is out of circulation.[7]
Telephone companies (market share): Tigo (45%), Claro (25%), Movistar
(24%), Digicel (5.5%), Red (0.5%).

El SalvadorEl Salvador (/ɛl ˈsælvədɔːr/ ( listen);
Spanish: [el salβaˈðor]), officially the
RepublicRepublic of El
Salvador (Spanish: República de El Salvador, literally "
RepublicRepublic of
The Savior"), is the smallest and the most densely populated country
in Central America. El Salvador's capital and largest city is San
Salvador. As of 2016[update], the country had a population of
approximately 6.34 million,[3] consisting largely of Mestizos of
European and Indigenous American descent.
El SalvadorEl Salvador was for centuries inhabited by several Mesoamerican
nations, especially the Cuzcatlecs, as well as the
LencaLenca and Maya. In
the early 16th century, the
Spanish EmpireSpanish Empire conquered the territory,
incorporating it into the Viceroyalty of New
SpainSpain ruled from Mexico
City. However the Viceroyalty of
MexicoMexico had little or no influence in
the daily affairs of the
Central AmericanCentral American isthmus, which would be
colonized in 1524. In 1609 the area became the Captaincy General of
Guatemala, from which
El SalvadorEl Salvador was part of until its independence
from Spain, which took place in 1821, as part of the First Mexican
Empire, then further seceded, as part of the Federal
RepublicRepublic of
Central America, in 1823. When the
RepublicRepublic dissolved in 1841, El
Salvador became a sovereign nation, then formed a short-lived union
with
HondurasHonduras and
NicaraguaNicaragua called the Greater
RepublicRepublic of Central
America, which lasted from 1895 to 1898.[8][9][10]
From the late 19th to the mid-20th century,
El SalvadorEl Salvador endured
chronic political and economic instability characterized by coups,
revolts, and a succession of authoritarian rulers. Persistent
socioeconomic inequality and civil unrest culminated in the
devastating
Salvadoran Civil WarSalvadoran Civil War (1979–1992), which was fought
between the military-led government and a coalition of left-wing
guerrilla groups. The conflict ended with the Chapultepec Peace
Accords. This negotiated settlement established a multiparty
constitutional republic, which remains in place to this day.
El Salvador's economy has historically been dominated by agriculture,
beginning with the indigo plant (añil in Spanish), the most important
crop during the colonial period,[11][12] and followed thereafter by
coffee, which by the early 20th century accounted for 90 percent of
export earnings.[13][14]
El SalvadorEl Salvador has since reduced its dependence
on coffee and embarked on diversifying the economy by opening up trade
and financial links and expanding the manufacturing sector.[15] The
colón, the official currency of
El SalvadorEl Salvador since 1892, was replaced
by the U.S. dollar in 2001.
As of 2010[update],
El SalvadorEl Salvador ranks 12th among Latin American
countries in terms of the
Human Development IndexHuman Development Index and fourth in
Central AmericaCentral America (behind Panama, Costa Rica, and Belize) due in part to
ongoing rapid industrialisation.[16] However, the country continues to
struggle with high rates of poverty, inequality, and crime.

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Tomayate (es) is a paleontological site located on the banks of
the river of the same name in the municipality of Apopa. The site has
produced abundant Salvadoran megafauna fossils belonging to the
PleistocenePleistocene epoch. The paleontological site was discovered
accidentally in 2000, and in the following year an excavation by the
Museum of Natural
History of El SalvadorHistory of El Salvador revealed not only several
remnants of Cuvieronius, but also several other species of
vertebrates. In the Tomayate site, they have recovered at least 19
species of vertebrates, including giant tortoises, Megatherium,
Glyptodon, Toxodon, extinct horses, paleo-llamas and especially a
large number of skeletal remains of proboscis genus Cuvieronius. The
Tomayate site stands out from most
Central AmericanCentral American Pleistocene
deposits, being more ancient and much richer, which provides valuable
information of the Great American Interchange, in which the Central
American isthmus landbridge played the title primordial role. At the
same time, it is considered the richest vertebrate paleontological
site in
Central AmericaCentral America and one of the largest accumulations of
proboscideans in the Americas.
Main article: History of El Salvador

Temazcal in Joya de Ceren.

Pre-Columbian
Main article: Cuzcatlan
Sophisticated civilization in
El SalvadorEl Salvador dates to its settlement by
the indigenous
LencaLenca people; theirs was the first and the oldest
indigenous civilization to settle in El Salvador. The
LencaLenca were
succeeded by the Olmecs, who eventually also disappeared, leaving
their monumental architecture in the form of the pyramids still extant
in western El Salvador. The Maya arrived and settled in place of the
Olmecs, but their numbers were greatly diminished when the Ilopango
supervolcano eruption caused a massive Mayan exodus out of what is now
El Salvador.[17]
Centuries later they themselves were replaced by the Pipil people,
Nahua speaking groups[17] who migrated from
MexicoMexico in the centuries
before the European conquest and occupied the central and western
regions. The Pipil were the last indigenous people to arrive in El
Salvador.[18] They called their territory Kuskatan, a Pipil word[19]
meaning The Place of Precious Jewels, backformed into Classical
Nahuatl Cōzcatlān, and Hispanicized as Cuzcatlán.[20][21] The
people of
El SalvadorEl Salvador today are referred to as Salvadoran, while the
term Cuzcatleco is commonly used to identify someone of Salvadoran
heritage.
In pre-Columbian times, the country was also inhabited by various
other indigenous peoples, including the Lenca, a Chilanga
Lencan-speaking group[22] who settled in the eastern highlands.[23]
CuzcatlanCuzcatlan was the larger domain until the Spanish conquest. Since El
Salvador resided on the eastern edge of the Maya Civilization, the
origins of many of El Salvador's ruins are controversial. However, it
is widely agreed that Mayas likely occupied the areas around Lago de
Guija and Cihuatán. Other ruins such as Tazumal,
Joya de CerénJoya de Cerén and
San Andrés may have been built by the Pipil or the Maya or possibly
both.[24]
European contact (1522)
By 1521, the indigenous population of the
MesoamericanMesoamerican area had been
drastically reduced by the smallpox epidemic that was spreading
throughout the territory, although it had not yet reached pandemic
levels in Cuzcatlán.[25][26][27] The first known visit by Spaniards
to what is now Salvadoran territory was made by the Spanish admiral,
Andrés Niño, who led a Spanish expedition to Central America. He
disembarked in the
Gulf of FonsecaGulf of Fonseca on May 31, 1522, at Meanguera
island, naming it Petronila,[28] and then discovered
Jiquilisco Bay on
the mouth of Lempa River. The first indigenous people to have contact
with the Spanish were the
LencaLenca of eastern El Salvador.
Conquest of Cuzcatlán (1524–1525)
Main article: Spanish conquest of El Salvador

Spanish Conquistador Pedro de Alvarado.

In 1524, after participating in the conquest of Mexico, Spanish
conquistadors led by
Pedro de AlvaradoPedro de Alvarado and his brother Gonzalo crossed
the Rio Paz (Peace River) from the area comprising the present
RepublicRepublic of
GuatemalaGuatemala into what is now the
RepublicRepublic of El Salvador.
The Spaniards were disappointed to discover that the indigenous Pipil
people had no gold or jewels like those they had found in
GuatemalaGuatemala or
Mexico, but recognized the richness of the land's volcanic soil.
Pedro de AlvaradoPedro de Alvarado led the first incursion by Spanish forces to extend
their dominion to the nation of
CuzcatlanCuzcatlan (El Salvador), in June
1524.[29] When he arrived at the borders of the
CuzcatlanCuzcatlan kingdom he
saw that civilians had been evacuated. Cuzcatlec warriors moved to the
coastal city of
AcajutlaAcajutla and waited for Alvarado and his forces.
Alvarado approached, confident that the result would be similar to
what occurred in
MexicoMexico and
GuatemalaGuatemala where the people believed the
Spanish were gods. He thought he would easily defeat this new
indigenous force since his Mexican allies and the Pipil of Cuzcatlan
spoke a similar language.
The Indigenous peoples of
El SalvadorEl Salvador did not see the Spanish as gods,
but as foreign invaders. Alvarado saw that the Cuzcatan force
outnumbered his Spanish soldiers and Mexican Indian allies. The
Spanish withdrew and the Cuzcatlec army attacked, running behind them
with war chants and shooting bow arrows. Alvarado had no choice but to
fight to survive.[citation needed]
Alvarado described the Cuzcatlec soldiers in great detail as having
shields made of colorful exotic feathers, a vest-like armor made of
three inch cotton which arrows could not penetrate, and large spears.
Both armies suffered many casualties, with a wounded Alvarado
retreating and losing a lot of his men, especially among the Mexican
Indian auxiliaries. Once his army had regrouped, Alvarado decided to
head to the
CuzcatlanCuzcatlan capital and again faced armed Cuzcatlec.
Wounded, unable to fight and hiding in the cliffs, Alvarado sent his
Spanish men on their horses to approach the Cuzcatlec to see if they
would fear the horses, but they did not retreat, Alvarado recalls in
his letters to Hernan Cortez.[citation needed]
The Cuzcatlec attacked again, and on this occasion stole Spanish
weaponry. Alvarado retreated and sent Mexican Indian messengers to
demand that the Cuzcatlec warriors return the stolen weapons and
surrender to the Spanish king. The Cuzcatlec responded with the famous
response, "If you want your weapons, come get them". As days passed,
Alvarado, fearing an ambush, sent more Mexican Indian messengers to
negotiate, but these messengers never came back and were presumably
executed.

The Spanish efforts were firmly resisted by the indigenous people,
including the Pipil and their Mayan-speaking neighbors. They defeated
the Spaniards and what was left of their Mexican
TlaxcalaTlaxcala Indian
allies, forcing them to withdraw to Guatemala. After being wounded,
Alvarado abandoned the war and appointed his brother, Gonzalo de
Alvarado, to continue the task. Two subsequent expeditions (the first
in 1525, followed by a smaller group in 1528) brought the Pipil under
Spanish control, since the Pipil also were weakened by a regional
epidemic of smallpox. In 1525, the conquest of Cuzcatlán was
completed and the city of
San SalvadorSan Salvador was established. The Spanish
faced much resistance from the Pipil and were not able to reach
eastern El Salvador, the area of the Lencas.
In 1526 the Spanish founded the garrison town of San Miguel, headed by
another explorer and conquistador, Luis de Moscoso Alvarado, nephew of
Pedro Alvarado. Oral history holds that a Maya-
LencaLenca crown princess,
Antu Silan Ulap I, organized resistance to the conquistadors.[30] The
kingdom of
LencaLenca was alarmed by de Moscoso's invasion, and Antu Silan
travelled from village to village, uniting all the
LencaLenca towns in
present-day
El SalvadorEl Salvador and
HondurasHonduras against the Spaniards. Through
surprise attacks and overwhelming numbers, they were able to drive the
Spanish out of San Miguel and destroy the garrison.
For ten years the Lencas prevented the Spanish from building a
permanent settlement. Then the Spanish returned with more soldiers,
including about 2,000 forced conscripts from indigenous communities in
Guatemala. They pursued the
LencaLenca leaders further up into the
mountains of Intibucá.
Antu Silan Ulap eventually handed over control of the
LencaLenca resistance
to Lempira (also called Empira). Lempira was noteworthy among
indigenous leaders in that he mocked the Spanish by wearing their
clothes after capturing them and using their weapons captured in
battle. Lempira fought in command of thousands of
LencaLenca forces for six
more years in
El SalvadorEl Salvador and
HondurasHonduras until he was killed in battle.
The remaining
LencaLenca forces retreated into the hills. The Spanish were
then able to rebuild their garrison town of San Miguel in 1537.
Spanish rule (1525–1821)

A painting of the First
IndependenceIndependence Movement celebration in San
Salvador. At the center, José Matías Delgado.

During the colonial period,
El SalvadorEl Salvador was part of the Captaincy
General of Guatemala, also known as the Kingdom of
GuatemalaGuatemala (Spanish:
Reino de Guatemala), created in 1609 as an administrative division of
New Spain. The Salvadoran territory was administered by the Mayor of
Sonsonate, with
San SalvadorSan Salvador being established as an intendancia in
1786.
Towards the end of 1811, a combination of internal and external
factors motivated
Central AmericanCentral American elites to attempt to gain
independence from the Spanish Crown. The most important internal
factors were the desire of local elites to control the country's
affairs free of involvement from Spanish authorities, and the
long-standing Creole aspiration for independence. The main external
factors motivating the independence movement were the success of the
French and American revolutions in the 18th century, and the weakening
of the Spanish Crown's military power as a result of the Napoleonic
Wars, with the resulting inability to control its colonies
effectively.
In November 1811 Salvadoran priest
José Matías DelgadoJosé Matías Delgado rang the
bells of Iglesia La Merced in San Salvador, calling for insurrection
and launching the 1811
IndependenceIndependence Movement. This insurrection was
suppressed and many of its leaders were arrested and served sentences
in jail. Another insurrection was launched in 1814, and again this
insurrection was also suppressed.
IndependenceIndependence (1821)
In 1821 in light of unrest in Guatemala, Spanish authorities
capitulated and signed the Act of
IndependenceIndependence of Central America,
which released all of the Captaincy of
GuatemalaGuatemala (comprising current
territories of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras,
NicaraguaNicaragua and Costa
Rica and the Mexican state of Chiapas) from Spanish rule and declared
its independence. In 1821,
El SalvadorEl Salvador joined Costa Rica, Guatemala,
HondurasHonduras and
NicaraguaNicaragua in a union named the Federal
RepublicRepublic of
Central America.
In early 1822, the authorities of the newly independent Central
American provinces, meeting in
GuatemalaGuatemala City, voted to join the newly
constituted
First Mexican EmpireFirst Mexican Empire under Agustín de Iturbide. El
Salvador resisted, insisting on autonomy for the Central American
countries. A Mexican military detachment marched to
San SalvadorSan Salvador and
suppressed dissent, but with the fall of Iturbide on 19 March 1823,
the army decamped back to Mexico. Shortly thereafter, the authorities
of the provinces revoked the vote to join Mexico, deciding instead to
form a federal union of the five remaining provinces. (Chiapas
permanently joined
MexicoMexico at this juncture.)
When the Federal
RepublicRepublic of
Central AmericaCentral America dissolved in 1841, El
Salvador maintained its own government until it joined
HondurasHonduras and
NicaraguaNicaragua in 1896 to form the Greater
RepublicRepublic of Central America,
which dissolved in 1898.
After the mid-19th century, the economy was based on coffee growing.
As the world market for indigo withered away, the economy prospered or
suffered as the world coffee price fluctuated. The enormous profits
that coffee yielded as a monoculture export served as an impetus for
the concentration of land into the hands of an oligarchy of just a few
families.[31]
Throughout the last half of the 19th century, a succession of
presidents from the ranks of the Salvadoran oligarchy, nominally both
conservative and liberal, generally agreed on the promotion of coffee
as the predominant cash crop, the development of infrastructure
(railroads and port facilities) primarily in support of the coffee
trade, the elimination of communal landholdings to facilitate further
coffee production, the passage of anti-vagrancy laws to ensure that
displaced campesinos and other rural residents provided sufficient
labor for the coffee fincas (plantations), and the suppression of
rural discontent. In 1912, the national guard was created as a rural
police force.
20th century

Gen. Tomás Regalado

In 1898, Gen. Tomas Regalado gained power by force, deposing Rafael
Antonio Gutiérrez and ruling as president until 1903. Once in office
he revived the practice of presidents designating their successors.
After serving his term, he remained active in the Army of El Salvador,
and was killed July 11, 1906, at El Jicaro during a war against
Guatemala. Until 1913
El SalvadorEl Salvador was politically stable, with
undercurrents of popular discontent. When
PresidentPresident Dr. Manuel Enrique
Araujo was killed in 1913, many hypotheses were advanced for the
political motive of his murder.

Araujo's administration was followed by the Melendez-Quinonez dynasty
that lasted from 1913 to 1927. Pio Romero Bosque, ex-Minister of the
Government and a trusted collaborator of the dynasty, succeeded
PresidentPresidentJorge MeléndezJorge Meléndez and in 1930 announced free elections, in
which
Arturo AraujoArturo Araujo came to power on March 1, 1931 in what was
considered the country's first freely contested election. His
government lasted only nine months before it was overthrown by junior
military officers who accused his Labor Party of lacking political and
governmental experience and of using its government offices
inefficiently.
PresidentPresident Araujo faced general popular discontent, as
the people had expected economic reforms and the redistribution of
land. There were demonstrations in front of the National Palace from
the first week of his administration. His vice president and minister
of war was Gen. Maximiliano Hernández Martínez.
In December 1931, a coup d'état organized by junior officers and led
by Gen. Martínez started in the First Regiment of Infantry across
from the National Palace in downtown San Salvador. Only the First
Regiment of Cavalry and the National Police defended the presidency
(the National Police had been on its payroll), but later that night,
after hours of fighting, the badly outnumbered defenders surrendered
to rebel forces.
The Directorate, composed of officers, hid behind a shadowy
figure,[32] a rich anti-Communist banker called Rodolfo Duke, and
later installed the ardent fascist Gen. Martínez as president. The
revolt was probably due to the army's discontent at not having been
paid by
PresidentPresident Araujo for some months. Araujo left the National
Palace and unsuccessfully tried to organize forces to defeat the
revolt.
The U.S. Minister in
El SalvadorEl Salvador met with the Directorate and later
recognized the government of Martínez, which agreed to hold
presidential elections. He resigned six months prior to running for
re-election, winning back the presidency as the only candidate on the
ballot. He ruled from 1935 to 1939, then from 1939 to 1943. He began a
fourth term in 1944, but resigned in May after a general strike.
Martínez had said he was going to respect the Constitution, which
stipulated he could not be re-elected, but he refused to keep his
promise.
From December 1931, the year of the coup that brought Martínez to
power, there was brutal suppression of rural resistance. The most
notable event was the February 1932 Salvadoran peasant uprising,
originally led by
Farabundo MartíFarabundo Martí and Abel Cuenca, and university
students Alfonso Luna and Mario Zapata, but these leaders were
captured before the planned insurrection. Only Cuenca survived; the
other insurgents were killed by the government. After the capture of
the movement leaders, the insurrection erupted in a disorganized and
mob-controlled fashion, resulting in government repression that was
later referred to as La Matanza (The Massacre), because tens of
thousands of peasants died in the ensuing chaos on the orders of
PresidentPresident Martinez.
In the unstable political climate of the previous few years, the
social activist and revolutionary leader
Farabundo MartíFarabundo Martí helped found
the Communist Party of Central America, and led a Communist
alternative to the Red Cross called International Red Aid, serving as
one of its representatives. Their goal was to help poor and
underprivileged
SalvadoransSalvadorans through the use of Marxist-Leninist
ideology (strongly rejecting Stalinism). In December 1930, at the
height of the country's economic and social depression, Martí was
once again exiled due to his popularity among the nation's poor and
rumors of his upcoming nomination for
PresidentPresident the following year.
Once
Arturo AraujoArturo Araujo was elected president in 1931, Martí returned to
El Salvador, and along with Alfonso Luna and Mario Zapata began the
movement that was later truncated by the military.

José Napoleón Duarte.

They helped start a guerrilla revolt of indigenous farmers. The
government responded by killing over 30,000 people at what was to have
been a "peaceful meeting" in 1932; this became known as La Matanza
(The Slaughter). The peasant uprising against Martínez was crushed by
the Salvadoran military ten days after it had begun. The Communist-led
rebellion, fomented by collapsing coffee prices, enjoyed some initial
success, but was soon drowned in a bloodbath.
PresidentPresident Martínez, who
had himself toppled an elected government only weeks earlier, ordered
the defeated Martí shot after a perfunctory hearing.
Historically, the high Salvadoran population density has contributed
to tensions with neighboring Honduras, as land-poor Salvadorans
emigrated to less densely populated
HondurasHonduras and established
themselves as squatters on unused or underused land. This phenomenon
was a major cause of the 1969
Football WarFootball War between the two
countries.[33] As many as 130,000
SalvadoransSalvadorans were forcibly expelled
or fled from Honduras.[34]
The
ChristianChristian Democratic Party (PDC) and the National Conciliation
Party (PCN) were active in Salvadoran politics from 1960 until 2011,
when they were disbanded by the Supreme Court because they had failed
to win enough votes in the 2004 presidential election;[35] Both
parties have since reconstituted. They share common ideals, but one
represents the middle class and the latter the interests of the
Salvadoran military.
PDC leader
José Napoleón DuarteJosé Napoleón Duarte was the mayor of
San SalvadorSan Salvador from
1964 to 1970, winning three elections during the regime of PCN
PresidentPresident Julio Adalberto Rivera Carballo, who allowed free elections
for mayors and the National Assembly. Duarte later ran for president
with a political grouping called the
National Opposition UnionNational Opposition Union (UNO)
but was defeated in the 1972 presidential elections. He lost to the
ex-Minister of Interior, Col. Arturo Armando Molina, in an election
that was widely viewed as fraudulent; Molina was declared the winner
even though Duarte was said to have received a majority of the votes.
Duarte, at some army officers' request, supported a revolt to protest
the election fraud, but was captured, tortured and later exiled.
Duarte returned to the country in 1979 to enter politics after working
on projects in Venezuela as an engineer.
Salvadoran Civil WarSalvadoran Civil War (1979–1992)
Further information: Salvadoran Civil War
In October 1979, a coup d'état brought the Revolutionary Government
Junta of
El SalvadorEl Salvador to power. It nationalized many private companies
and took over much privately owned land. The purpose of this new junta
was to stop the revolutionary movement already underway in response to
Duarte's stolen election. Nevertheless, the oligarchy opposed agrarian
reform, and a junta formed with young liberal elements from the army
such as Gen. Majano and Gen. Gutierrez,[36][37] as well as with
progressives such as
Guillermo Ungo and Alvarez.

A billboard serving as a reminder of one of many massacres that
occurred during the civil war.

Pressure from the oligarchy soon dissolved the junta because of its
inability to control the army in its repression of the people fighting
for unionization rights, agrarian reform, better wages, accessible
health care and freedom of expression. In the meantime, the guerrilla
movement was spreading to all sectors of Salvadoran society. Middle
and high school students were organized in MERS (Movimiento
Estudiantil Revolucionario de Secundaria, Revolutionary Movement of
Secondary Students); college students were involved with AGEUS
(Asociacion de Estudiantes Universitarios Salvadorenos; Association of
Salvadoran College Students); and workers were organized in BPR
(Bloque Popular Revolucionario, Popular Revolutionary Block). In
October 1980, several other major guerrilla groups of the Salvadoran
left had formed the
Farabundo MartíFarabundo Martí National Liberation Front, or
FMLN. By the end of the 1970s, death squads were killing about 10
people each day, and the
FMLNFMLN had 6,000 – 8,000 active guerrillas
and hundreds of thousands of part-time militia, supporters, and
sympathizers.[38]

ERP combatants in Perquín, 1990.

The U.S. supported and financed the creation of a second junta to
change the political environment and stop the spread of a leftist
insurrection. Napoleón Duarte was recalled from his exile in
Venezuela to head this new junta. However, a revolution was already
underway and his new role as head of the junta was seen by the general
population as opportunistic. He was unable to influence the outcome of
the insurrection. Monsignor Romero, Archbishop of San Salvador,
denounced injustices and massacres committed against civilians by
government forces. He was considered "the voice of the voiceless", but
he was assassinated by a death squad while saying Mass on 24 March
1980.[39] Some consider this to be the beginning of the full
Salvadoran Civil War, which lasted from 1980 to 1992. An unknown
number of people "disappeared" during the conflict, and the UN reports
that more than 75,000 were killed.[40] The Salvadoran Army's
US-trained
Atlacatl Battalion was responsible for the El Mozote
massacre where more than 800 civilians were murdered, over half of
them children, the El Calabozo massacre, and the murder of UCA
scholars.[41]

A reconstruction of Radio Venceremos, at the Museo de la Palabra y la
Imagen, San Salvador.

On January 16, 1992, the government of El Salvador, represented by
president Alfredo Cristiani, and the FMLN, represented by the
commanders of the five guerrilla groups – Shafik Handal, Joaquín
Villalobos, Salvador Sánchez Cerén, Francisco Jovel and Eduardo
Sancho, all signed peace agreements brokered by the United Nations
ending the 12-year civil war. This event, held at Chapultepec Castle
in Mexico, was attended by U.N. dignitaries and other representatives
of the international community. After signing the armistice, the
president stood up and shook hands with all the now ex-guerrilla
commanders, an action which was widely admired.
Post-war (1992–present)
The so-called
Chapultepec Peace Accords mandated reductions in the
size of the army, and the dissolution of the National Police, the
Treasury Police, the National Guard and the Civilian Defense, a
paramilitary group. A new Civil Police was to be organized. Judicial
immunity for crimes committed by the armed forces ended; the
government agreed to submit to the recommendations of a Commission on
the Truth for
El SalvadorEl Salvador (Comisión de la Verdad Para El Salvador),
which would "investigate serious acts of violence occurring since
1980, and the nature and effects of the violence, and...recommend
methods of promoting national reconciliation." In 1993 the Commission
delivered its findings reporting human rights violations on both sides
of the conflict.[42] Five days later the El Salvadoran legislature
passed an amnesty law for all acts of violence during the period.
From 1989 until 2004,
SalvadoransSalvadorans favored the Nationalist Republican
Alliance (ARENA) party, voting in ARENA presidents in every election
(Alfredo Cristiani, Armando Calderón Sol, Francisco Flores Pérez,
Antonio Saca) until 2009, when
Mauricio FunesMauricio Funes was elected president
from the
Farabundo MartíFarabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) party.
Economic reforms since the early 1990s brought major benefits in terms
of improved social conditions, diversification of the export sector,
and access to international financial markets at investment grade
level. Crime remains a major problem for the investment climate.
This[clarification needed] all ended in 2001, and support for ARENA
weakened. Internal turmoil in ARENA weakened the party also, while the
FMLNFMLN united and broadened its support.[43]
The unsuccessful attempts of the left-wing party to win presidential
elections led to its selection of a journalist rather than a former
guerrilla leader as a candidate. On March 15, 2009, Mauricio Funes, a
television figure, became the first president from the
FMLNFMLN party. He
was inaugurated on June 1, 2009. One focus of the Funes government has
been revealing the alleged corruption from the past government.[44]
ARENA formally expelled Saca from the party in December 2009. With 12
loyalists in the National Assembly, Saca established his own party,
GANA (Gran Alianza por la Unidad Nacional or Grand Alliance for
National Unity), and entered into a tactical legislative alliance with
the FMLN.[45] After three years in office, with Saca's GANA party
providing the
FMLNFMLN with a legislative majority, Funes had not taken
action to either investigate or to bring corrupt former officials to
justice.
Early in the new millennium, El Salvador's government created the
Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales – the Ministry of
Environment and Natural Resources (MARN) and began promoting the
integration of climate change into national policy. This move was in
response to the increase in extreme weather events affecting the
country. Initially MARN aimed to fulfil the country’s obligations
following its ratification of the
UNFCCCUNFCCC and the Kyoto protocol
However, since
HurricaneHurricane Ida in 2009, the government’s stance has
shifted towards integrating risk reduction into all areas of policy,
including financial.[46]
In a specific effort to increase the resilience of its economy and
people to climate-related events,
El SalvadorEl Salvador commissioned a project
in 2011 to develop and implement a National Policy and Strategy for
Climate Change, which culminated with the launch of the National
Environmental Policy in June 2012 and the National Environmental
Strategy in June 2013, both incorporating climate change goals. This
work was undertaken with support from the Climate & Development
Knowledge Network. The government is now preparing action plans for
putting the strategy into practice.[46]
Geography
Main article: Geography of El Salvador

El SalvadorEl Salvador lies in the isthmus of
Central AmericaCentral America between latitudes
13° and 15°N, and longitudes 87° and 91°W. It stretches
270 km (168 mi) from west-northwest to east-southeast and
142 km (88 mi) north to south, with a total area of
21,041 km2 (8,124 sq mi). As the smallest country in
continental America,
El SalvadorEl Salvador is affectionately called Pulgarcito
de America (the "
Tom ThumbTom Thumb of the Americas"). The highest point in El
Salvador is Cerro El Pital, at 2,730 metres (8,957 ft), on the
border with Honduras.
El SalvadorEl Salvador has a long history of destructive earthquakes and volcanic
eruptions. The capital
San SalvadorSan Salvador was destroyed in 1756 and 1854,
and it suffered heavy damage in the 1919, 1982, and 1986 tremors. El
Salvador has over twenty volcanoes, two of them, San Miguel and
Izalco, active in recent years. From the early 19th century to the
mid-1950s,
IzalcoIzalco erupted with a regularity that earned it the name
"Lighthouse of the Pacific." Its brilliant flares were clearly visible
for great distances at sea, and at night its glowing lava turned it
into a brilliant luminous cone.
El SalvadorEl Salvador has over 300 rivers, the most important of which is the
Rio Lempa. Originating in Guatemala, the Rio Lempa cuts across the
northern range of mountains, flows along much of the central plateau,
and cuts through the southern volcanic range to empty into the
Pacific. It is El Salvador's only navigable river. It and its
tributaries drain about half of the country's area. Other rivers are
generally short and drain the Pacific lowlands or flow from the
central plateau through gaps in the southern mountain range to the
Pacific. These include the Goascorán, Jiboa, Torola, Paz and the Río
Grande de San Miguel.
There are several lakes enclosed by volcanic craters in El Salvador,
the most important of which are
Lake IlopangoLake Ilopango (70 km²) and Lake
Coatepeque (26 km²).
Lake GüijaLake Güija is El Salvador's largest
natural lake (44 km²). Several artificial lakes were created by
the damming of the Lempa, the largest of which is Embalse Cerrón
Grande (135 km²). There are a total 320 km2
(123.6 sq mi) of water within El Salvador's borders.
El SalvadorEl Salvador shares borders with
GuatemalaGuatemala and Honduras, the total
national boundary length is 546 km (339 mi): 126 miles
(203 km) with
GuatemalaGuatemala and 343 km (213 mi) with
Honduras. It is the only
Central AmericanCentral American country that has no
Caribbean coastline. The coastline on the Pacific is 307 km
(191 mi) long.
Two parallel mountain ranges cross
El SalvadorEl Salvador to the west with a
central plateau between them and a narrow coastal plain hugging the
Pacific. These physical features divide the country into two
physiographic regions. The mountain ranges and central plateau,
covering 85% of the land, comprise the interior highlands. The
remaining coastal plains are referred to as the Pacific lowlands.
Climate
Main article: Climate of El Salvador

El Salvador's topography.

El SalvadorEl Salvador has a
Tropical climateTropical climate with pronounced wet and dry
seasons. Temperatures vary primarily with elevation and show little
seasonal change. The Pacific lowlands are uniformly hot; the central
plateau and mountain areas are more moderate. The rainy season extends
from May to October; this time of year is referred to as invierno or
winter. Almost all the annual rainfall occurs during this period;
yearly totals, particularly on southern-facing mountain slopes, can be
as high as 2170 mm.
The best time to visit
El SalvadorEl Salvador would be at the beginning or end of
the dry season. Protected areas and the central plateau receive less,
although still significant, amounts. Rainfall during this season
generally comes from low pressure systems formed over the Pacific and
usually falls in heavy afternoon thunderstorms. Hurricanes
occasionally form in the Pacific with the notable exception of
HurricaneHurricane Mitch, which formed in the Atlantic and crossed Central
America.
From November through April, the northeast trade winds control weather
patterns; this time of year is referred to as verano, or summer.
During these months, air flowing from the Caribbean has lost most of
its precipitation while passing over the mountains in Honduras. By the
time this air reaches El Salvador, it is dry, hot, and hazy, and the
country experiences hot weather, excluding the northern higher
mountain ranges, where temperatures will be cool. In the extreme
northeastern part of the country near Cerro El Pital, snow is known to
fall during summer as well as during winter due to the high elevations
(it is the coldest part of the country).
Natural disasters
Extreme weather events

Volcanic range, Cordillera de Apaneca, view from Salcoatitán

El Salvador's position on the Pacific Ocean also makes it subject to
severe weather conditions, including heavy rainstorms and severe
droughts, both of which may be made more extreme by the
El NiñoEl Niño and
La NiñaLa Niña effects. Severe deforestation and soil erosion have made the
landscape vulnerable to landslides and forest fires. These
characteristics, coupled with severe fiscal constraints, make the
nation highly susceptible to the impacts of extreme weather
events.[47]
In the summer of 2001 a severe drought destroyed 80% of El Salvador's
crops, causing famine in the countryside.[48][49] On October 4, 2005,
severe rains resulted in dangerous flooding and landslides, which
caused a minimum of fifty deaths.[50] In 2010, losses to agriculture
from flooding exceeded USD100 million, while those resulting from
drought were USD38 million.[51]
El Salvador's location in
Central AmericaCentral America also makes it vulnerable to
severe storms and hurricanes coming off the Caribbean. Since the
1990s, there has been an increase in the frequency and duration of
storms, as well as a marked change in the pattern of their occurrence.
Hurricanes used to strike
El SalvadorEl Salvador infrequently, only came from the
Atlantic and were limited to the months of September and October.
However, since the mid 1990s, such storms have occurred more
frequently, originated in both the Atlantic and Pacific, and have
struck in six different months of the year.[46]
Earthquakes and volcanic activity
El SalvadorEl Salvador lies along the Pacific Ring of Fire, and is thus subject
to significant tectonic activity, including frequent earthquakes and
volcanic activity. Recent examples include the earthquake on January
13, 2001 that measured 7.7 on the
Richter magnitude scaleRichter magnitude scale and caused a
landslide that killed more than 800 people;[50] and another earthquake
only a month later, on February 13, 2001, that killed 255 people and
damaged about 20% of the nation's housing. Luckily, many families were
able to find safety from the landslides caused by the earthquake.
The
San SalvadorSan Salvador area has been hit by earthquakes in 1576, 1659, 1798,
1839, 1854, 1873, 1880, 1917, 1919, 1965, 1986, 2001 and 2005.[52] The
5.7 Mw-earthquake of 1986 resulted in 1,500 deaths, 10,000 injuries,
and 100,000 people left homeless.[53][54]
El Salvador's most recent destructive volcanic eruption took place on
October 1, 2005, when the Santa Ana
VolcanoVolcano spewed a cloud of ash, hot
mud and rocks that fell on nearby villages and caused two deaths. The
most severe volcanic eruption in this area occurred in the 5th century
AD when the
IlopangoIlopango volcano erupted with a VEI strength of 6,
producing widespread pyroclastic flows and devastating Mayan
cities.[55]
The Santa Ana
VolcanoVolcano in
El SalvadorEl Salvador is active;[56] the most recent
eruptions were in 1904 and 2005. Lago de Coatepeque (one of El
Salvador's lakes) was created by water filling the caldera that formed
after a massive eruption.
The British Imperial College's
El Salvador ProjectEl Salvador Project aims to build
earthquake-proof buildings in remote areas of the country.
Biodiversity and endangered species

The torogoz is El Salvador's national bird.

There are eight species of sea turtles in the world; six of them nest
on the coasts of Central America, and four make their home on the
Salvadoran coast: the leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), the
hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), the green sea turtle (Chelonia
agasizzii) and the olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea). Of these four
species, the most common is the olive ridley turtle, followed by the
green sea turtle. The other two species, hawksbill and leatherback,
are much more difficult to find as they are critically endangered,
while the olive ridley and green sea turtle are in danger of
extinction.
Recent conservation efforts provide hope for the future of the
country's biological diversity. In 1997, the government established
the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources. A general
environmental framework law was approved by the National Assembly in
1999. Specific legislation to protect wildlife is still
pending.[when?] In addition, a number of non-governmental
organizations are doing important work to safeguard some of the
country's most important forested areas. Foremost among these is
SalvaNatura, which manages El Impossible, the country's largest
national park under an agreement with El Salvador's environmental
authorities.
Despite these efforts, much remains to be done.
It is estimated that there are 500 species of birds, 1,000 species of
butterflies, 400 species of orchids, 800 species of trees, and 800
species of marine fish in El Salvador.
Government and politics
Main article: Politics of El Salvador
The 1983 Constitution is the highest legal authority in the country.
El SalvadorEl Salvador has a democratic and representative government, whose
three bodies are:

Salvadoran cadets in the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador

The Executive Branch, headed by the
PresidentPresident of the Republic, who is
elected by direct vote and remains in office for five years. He can be
elected to only one term. The president has a Cabinet of Ministers
whom he appoints, and is also the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed
Forces.
The Legislative Branch, called El Salvador's Legislative Assembly
(unicameral), consisting of 84 deputies.
The Judiciary, headed by the Supreme Court, which is composed of 15
judges, one of them being elected as
PresidentPresident of the Judiciary.

After the Civil War, the
Chapultepec Peace Accords (1992) created the
new National Civil Police, the Attorney for the Defense of Human
Rights and the Supreme Electoral Tribunal. The Peace Accords
re-imagined the Frente
Farabundo MartíFarabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional
(FMLN) as a political party and redefined the role of the army to be
for the defense of the sovereignty and territorial integrity. The
Accords also removed some security forces who were in command of the
army, such as the National Guard, Treasury Police and special
battalions that were formed to fight against the insurgency of the
1980s.
The political framework of
El SalvadorEl Salvador is a presidential
representative democratic republic with a multiform, multi-party
system. The President, currently Salvador Sánchez Cerén, is both
head of state and head of government.
Executive power is exercised by
the government.
Legislative powerLegislative power is vested in both the government and
the Legislative Assembly. The country also has an independent
JudiciaryJudiciary and Supreme Court.
Political culture
Further information: List of political parties in El Salvador

El SalvadorEl Salvador has a multi-party system. Two political parties, the
Nationalist Republican AllianceNationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) and the Farabundo Martí
National Liberation Front (FMLN) have tended to dominate elections.
ARENA candidates won four consecutive presidential elections until the
election of
Mauricio FunesMauricio Funes of the
FMLNFMLN in March 2009. The
FMLNFMLN Party
is Leftist in ideology, and is split between the dominant
Marxist-LeninistMarxist-Leninist faction in the legislature, and the social liberal
wing led by
PresidentPresident Funes.
Geographically, the departments of the Central region, especially the
capital and the coastal regions, known as departamentos rojos, or red
departments, are relatively Leftist. The departamentos azules, or blue
departments in the east, western and highland regions are relatively
conservative. The winner of the 2014 presidential election, Salvador
Sánchez Cerén belongs to the
FMLNFMLN party. In the 2015 elections for
mayors and members of the National Assembly, ARENA appeared to be the
winner with tight control of the National Assembly.
Foreign relations
Further information: Foreign relations of El Salvador
In November, 1950
El SalvadorEl Salvador helped the newly empowered 14th Dalai
Lama by supporting his Tibetan Government cabinet minister's telegram
requesting an appeal before the General Assembly of the United Nations
to stop the Communist China's People's Liberation Army's invasion of
Tibet. "Only the tiny country of
El SalvadorEl Salvador agreed to sponsor Tibet's
plea."[57]"At the UN, no one was willing to stand up beside El
Salvador. The other nations had overriding self-interests, which made
it impossible for them to support San Salvador's attempt to bring the
invasion before the General Assembly."[57] With no other countries in
support, "the UN unanimously dropped the Tibetan plea from its
agenda."[57]
El SalvadorEl Salvador is a member of the
United NationsUnited Nations and several of its
specialized agencies, the
Organization of American StatesOrganization of American States (OAS), the
Central AmericanCentral American Common Market (CACM), the
Central AmericanCentral American Parliament
(PARLACEN), and the
Central AmericanCentral American Integration System (SICA). It
actively participates in the
Central AmericanCentral American Security Commission
(CASC), which seeks to promote regional arms control.
El SalvadorEl Salvador also is a member of the
World Trade OrganizationWorld Trade Organization and is
pursuing regional free trade agreements. An active participant in the
Summit of the Americas process,
El SalvadorEl Salvador chairs a working group on
market access under the
Free Trade Area of the AmericasFree Trade Area of the Americas initiative.
Military
Further information: Armed Forces of El Salvador
El SalvadorEl Salvador has an army, airforce and modest navy. There are around
17,000 personnel in the armed forces in total.[58]
Human rights
Main article: Human rights in El Salvador
Amnesty International has drawn attention to several arrests of police
officers for unlawful police killings. Other current issues to gain
Amnesty International's attention in the past 10 years include missing
children, failure of law enforcement to properly investigate and
prosecute crimes against women, and rendering organized labor
illegal.[59]
Administrative divisions
Further information: Departments of El Salvador
El SalvadorEl Salvador is divided into 14 departments (departamentos), which in
turn are subdivided into 262 municipalities (municipios).
Department names and capitals for the 14 Salvadoran Departments:

El Salvador's economy has been hampered at times by natural disasters
such as earthquakes and hurricanes, by government policies that
mandate large economic subsidies, and by official corruption.
Subsidies became such a problem that in April 2012, the International
Monetary Fund suspended a $750 million loan to the central government.
PresidentPresident Funes' chief of cabinet, Alex Segovia, acknowledged that the
economy was at the "point of collapse."[60]
Antiguo CuscatlánAntiguo Cuscatlán has the highest per capita income of all the cities
in the country, and is a center of international investment.[citation
needed]
GDP in purchasing power parity (PPP) in 2008 was estimated at $25.895
billion USD. The service sector is the largest component of GDP at
64.1%, followed by the industrial sector at 24.7% (2008 est.).
Agriculture represents only 11.2% of GDP (2010 est.)
The GDP grew after 1996 at an annual rate that averaged 3.2% real
growth. The government committed to free market initiatives, and the
2007 GDP's real growth rate was 4.7%.[61]
In December 1999, net international reserves equaled US $1.8 billion
or roughly five months of imports. Having this hard currency buffer to
work with, the Salvadoran government undertook a monetary integration
plan beginning January 1, 2001 by which the U.S. dollar became legal
tender alongside the Salvadoran colón, and all formal accounting was
done in U.S. dollars. Thus, the government has formally limited the
implementing of open market monetary policies to influence short-term
variables in the economy. As of September 2007, net international
reserves stood at $2.42 billion.[50][62]
It has long been a challenge in
El SalvadorEl Salvador to develop new growth
sectors for a more diversified economy. In the past, the country
produced gold and silver,[63] but recent attempts to reopen the mining
sector, which were expected to add hundreds of millions of dollars to
the local economy, collapsed after
PresidentPresident Saca shut down the
operations of Pacific Rim Mining Corporation. Nevertheless, according
to the
Central AmericanCentral American Institute for Fiscal Studies (Instituto
Centroamericano for Estudios Fiscales, by its acronym in Spanish), the
contribution of metallic mining was a minuscule 0.3% of the country's
GDP between 2010 and 2015. [64]Saca's decision although not lacking
political motives, had strong support from local residents and
grassroots movements in the country. According to NACLA, incoming
PresidentPresident Funes later rejected a company's application for a further
permit based on the risk of cyanide contamination on one of the
country's main rivers.[65]
As with other former colonies,
El SalvadorEl Salvador was considered a
mono-export economy (an economy that depended heavily on one type of
export) for many years. During colonial times,
El SalvadorEl Salvador was a
thriving exporter of indigo, but after the invention of synthetic dyes
in the 19th century, the newly created modern state turned to coffee
as the main export.

San Miguel is an important economic center of
El SalvadorEl Salvador and home to
the "
CarnivalCarnival of San Miguel", one of the biggest festivals of
entertainment and food in Central America.[66]

The government has sought to improve the collection of its current
revenues, with a focus on indirect taxes. A 10% value-added tax (IVA
in Spanish), implemented in September 1992, was raised to 13% in July
1995.
InflationInflation has been steady and among the lowest in the region. Since
1997 inflation has averaged 3%, with recent years increasing to nearly
5%. As a result of the free trade agreements, from 2000 to 2006, total
exports have grown 19% from $2.94 billion to $3.51 billion, and total
imports have risen 54% from $4.95 billion to $7.63 billion. This has
resulted in a 102% increase in the trade deficit, from $2.01 billion
to $4.12 billion.[67]

El Chorreron, El Salvador; tourism is the fastest-growing sector of
the Salvadoran economy.

El SalvadorEl Salvador has promoted an open trade and investment environment, and
has embarked on a wave of privatization extending to
telecommunications, electricity distribution, banking, and pension
funds. In late 2006, the government and the Millennium Challenge
Corporation signed a five-year, $461 million compact to stimulate
economic growth and reduce poverty in the country's northern region,
the primary conflict zone during the civil war, through investments in
education, public services, enterprise development, and transportation
infrastructure. With the adoption of the US dollar as its currency in
2001,
El SalvadorEl Salvador lost control over monetary policy. Any
counter-cyclical policy response to the downturn must be through
fiscal policy, which is constrained by legislative requirements for a
two-thirds majority to approve any international financing.

Exports to
Imports from

Country
%
Country
%

United States
66%
United States
43.4%

Caribbean
26%
Guatemala
8.2%

Mexico
1%
Mexico
7.8%

Spain
1%
Europe
7.0%

Others
6%
Others
33.6%

Remittances from abroad
El SalvadorEl Salvador leads the region in remittances per capita, with inflows
equivalent to nearly all export income; about a third of all
households receive these financial inflows. Remittances from
SalvadoransSalvadorans living and working in the United States, sent to family
members in El Salvador, are a major source of foreign income and
offset the substantial trade deficit of $4.12 billion. Remittances
have increased steadily in the last decade, and reached an all-time
high of $3.32 billion in 2006 (an increase of 17% over the previous
year).[68] approximately 16.2% of gross domestic product(GDP).
Remittances have had positive and negative effects on El Salvador. In
2005, the number of people living in extreme poverty in El Salvador
was 20%,[69] according to a
United NationsUnited Nations Development Program report.
Without remittances, the number of
SalvadoransSalvadorans living in extreme
poverty would rise to 37%. While Salvadoran education levels have gone
up, wage expectations have risen faster than either skills or
productivity. For example, some
SalvadoransSalvadorans are no longer willing to
take jobs that pay them less than what they receive monthly from
family members abroad. This has led to an influx of
HonduransHondurans and
NicaraguansNicaraguans who are willing to work for the prevailing wage. Also, the
local propensity for consumption over investment has increased.
Money from remittances has also increased prices for certain
commodities such as real estate. With much higher wages, many
SalvadoransSalvadorans abroad can afford higher prices for houses in El Salvador
than local Salvadorans, and thus push up the prices that all
SalvadoransSalvadorans must pay.[70]
Free tradeFree trade agreements

In 2006,
El SalvadorEl Salvador was the first country to ratify the Central
America-Dominican
RepublicRepublic Free
TradeTrade Agreement. CAFTA has bolstered
exports of processed foods, sugar, and ethanol, and supported
investment in the apparel sector, which faced Asian competition with
the expiration of the
Multi-Fiber Agreement in 2005. In anticipation
of the declines in the apparel sector's competitiveness, the previous
administration sought to diversify the economy by promoting the
country as a regional distribution and logistics hub, and by promoting
tourism investment through tax incentives.
There are a total of 15 free trade zones in El Salvador. El Salvador
signed the
Central AmericanCentral American Free
TradeTrade Agreement (CAFTA) —
negotiated by the five countries of
Central AmericaCentral America and the Dominican
RepublicRepublic — with the
United StatesUnited States in 2004. CAFTA requires that the
Salvadoran government adopt policies that foster free trade. El
Salvador has signed free trade agreements with Mexico, Chile, the
Dominican Republic, and
PanamaPanama and increased its trade with those
countries. El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and
NicaraguaNicaragua also are
negotiating a free trade agreement with Canada. In October 2007, these
four countries and
Costa RicaCosta Rica began free trade agreement negotiations
with the European Union. Negotiations started in 2006 for a free trade
agreement with Colombia.
Official corruption and foreign investment
In an analysis of ARENA's electoral defeat in 2009, the U.S. Embassy
in
San SalvadorSan Salvador pointed to official corruption under the Saca
administration as a significant reason for public rejection of
continued ARENA government. According to a secret diplomatic cable
made public by WikiLeaks, "While the Salvadoran public may be inured
to self-serving behavior by politicians, many in ARENA believe that
the brazen manner in which Saca and his people are widely perceived to
have used their positions for personal enrichment went beyond the
pale. ARENA deputy Roberto d'Aubuisson, son of ARENA founder Roberto
d'Aubuisson, told [a U.S. diplomat] that Saca 'deliberately ignored'
his Public Works Minister’s government contract kickbacks scheme,
even after the case was revealed in the press. Furthermore,
considerable evidence exists, including from U.S. business sources,
that the Saca administration pushed laws and selectively enforced
regulations with the specific intent to benefit Saca family business
interests."[71]
Subsequent policies under Funes administrations improved El Salvador
to foreign investment, and the
World BankWorld Bank in 2014 rated El Salvador
109, a little better than
BelizeBelize (118) and
NicaraguaNicaragua (119) in the
World Bank's annual "Ease of doing business" index.[72]
As per Santander Trade, a Spanish think tank in foreign investment,
"Foreign investment into
El SalvadorEl Salvador has been steadily growing during
the last few years. In 2013, the influx of FDI increased.
Nevertheless,
El SalvadorEl Salvador receives less FDI than other countries of
Central America. The government has made little progress in terms of
improving the business climate. In addition to this, the limited size
of its domestic market, weak infrastructures and institutions, as well
as the high level of criminality have been real obstacles to
investors. However,
El SalvadorEl Salvador is the second most "business friendly"
country in South America in terms of business taxation. It also has a
young and skilled labor force and a strategic geographical position.
The country's membership in the DR-CAFTA, as well as its reinforced
integration to the C4 countries (producers of cotton) should lead to
an increase of FDI."[73]
Foreign companies have lately resorted to arbitration in international
trade tribunals in total disagreement with Salvadoran government
policies. In 2008,
El SalvadorEl Salvador sought international arbitration
against Italy's Enel Green Power, on behalf of Salvadoran state-owned
electric companies for a geothermal project Enel had invested in. Four
years later, Enel indicated it would seek arbitration against El
Salvador, blaming the government for technical problems that prevent
it from completing its investment.[74] The government came to its
defense claiming that Art 109 of the constitution does not allow any
government (regardless of the party they belong), to privatize the
resources of the national soil (in this case geothermic energy). The
dispute came to an end in December 2014 when both parties came to a
settlement, from which no details have been released. The small
country had yielded to pressure from the Washington based powerful
ICSID.[75] The U.S. Embassy warned in 2009 that the Salvadoran
government's populist policies of mandating artificially low
electricity prices were damaging private sector profitability,
including the interests of American investors in the energy
sector.[76] The U.S. Embassy noted the corruption of El Salvador's
judicial system and quietly urged American businesses to include
"arbitration clauses, preferably with a foreign venue," when doing
business in the country.[77]
The U.S. Embassy warned in 2009 that the Salvadoran government's
populist policies of mandating artificially low electricity prices
were damaging private sector profitability, including the interests of
American investors in the energy sector.[76] The U.S. Embassy noted
the corruption of El Salvador's judicial system and quietly urged
American businesses to include "arbitration clauses, preferably with a
foreign venue," when doing business in the country.[77] On the other
hand, a 2008 report by the
United NationsUnited Nations Conference on
TradeTrade and
Development [2] indicates that one third of the generation of
electricity in
El SalvadorEl Salvador was publicly owned while two thirds was in
American hands and other foreign ownership. It is only natural for a
small, under-developed country like
El SalvadorEl Salvador to subsidize some of
the resources for the vast majority of its poor population.
Although some events may have tarnished the image of the El Salvadoran
government,[78] not everything is bad news. In terms of how people
perceived the levels of public corruption in 2014,
El SalvadorEl Salvador ranks
80 out of 175 countries as per the Corruption Perception Index.[79] El
Salvador's rating compares relatively well with
PanamaPanama (94 of 175) and
Costa RicaCosta Rica (47 of 175).
Tourism
Further information: Tourism in El Salvador

Moncagua, San Miguel

It was estimated that 1,394,000 international tourists would visit El
Salvador in 2014.[80] Tourism contributed US$855.5 million to El
Salvador's GDP in 2013. This represented 3.5% of total GDP.[81]
Tourism directly supported 80,500 jobs in 2013. This represented 3.1%
of total employment in El Salvador.[81] In 2013, tourism indirectly
supported 210,000 jobs, representing 8.1% of total employment in El
Salvador.[81]
The airport serving international flights in
El SalvadorEl Salvador is Comalapa
International Airport. This airport is located about 40 km
(25 mi) southeast of San Salvador.[82]

Most North American and European tourists seek out El Salvador's
beaches and nightlife. Besides these two attractions, El Salvador's
tourism landscape is slightly different from those of other Central
American countries. Because of its geographic size and urbanization
there are not many nature-themed tourist destinations such as ecotours
or archaeological sites open to the public.
SurfingSurfing is a natural
tourism sector that has gained popularity in recent years as
Salvadoran beaches have become increasingly popular.
Surfers visit many beaches on the coast of La Libertad and the east
end of El Salvador, finding surfing spots that are not yet
overcrowded. The use of the
United States dollarUnited States dollar as Salvadoran
currency and direct flights of 4 to 6 hours from most cities in the
United StatesUnited States are factors that attract American tourists. Urbanization
and
AmericanizationAmericanization of Salvadoran culture has also led to the
abundance of American-style malls, stores, and restaurants in the
three main urban areas, especially greater San Salvador.
According to the El Salvadoran newspaper El Diario De Hoy, the top 10
attractions are: the coastal beaches, La Libertad, Ruta Las Flores,
Suchitoto, Playa Las Flores in San Miguel, La Palma, Santa Ana
(location of the country's highest volcano), Nahuizalco, Apaneca,
Juayua, and San Ignacio.[83]
Infrastructure
Water supplyWater supply and sanitation
Main article:
Water supplyWater supply and sanitation in El Salvador
The level of access to water supply and sanitation has been increased
significantly. A 2015 conducted study by the University of North
Carolina called
El SalvadorEl Salvador the country that has achieved the greatest
progress in the world in terms of increased access to water supply and
sanitation and the reduction of inequity in access between urban and
rural areas.[84] However, water resources are seriously polluted and a
large part of the wastewater discharged into the environment without
any treatment. Institutionally a single public institution is both de
facto in charge of setting sector policy and of being the main service
provider. Attempts at reforming and modernizing the sector through new
laws have not borne fruit over the past 20 years.
Demographics
Main article: Demographics of El Salvador
El Salvador's population was 6,344,722 in 2016,[3] compared to
2,200,000 in 1950. In 2010 the percentage of the population below the
age of 15 was 32.1%, 61% were between 15 and 65 years of age, while
6.9% were 65 years or older.[85]
The capital city of
San SalvadorSan Salvador has a population of about 2.1 million
people. An estimated 42% of El Salvador's population live in rural
areas.
UrbanizationUrbanization has expanded at a phenomenal rate in El Salvador
since the 1960s, with millions moving to the cities and creating
associated problems for urban planning and services.
There are up to 100,000
NicaraguansNicaraguans living in El Salvador.[86]
Ethnic groups

El Salvador's population is composed of Mestizos, whites, and
indigenous peoples. Eighty-six percent of
SalvadoransSalvadorans are of mestizo
ancestry, having mixed indigenous and European ancestry.[87] In the
mestizo population,
SalvadoransSalvadorans who are racially European, especially
Mediterranean, as well as Afro-Salvadoran, and the indigenous people
in
El SalvadorEl Salvador who do not speak indigenous languages or have an
indigenous culture, all identify themselves as being culturally
mestizo.[88]
12.7% of
SalvadoransSalvadorans are white. A majority of Central European
immigrants in
El SalvadorEl Salvador arrived during World War II as refugees from
the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Poland, and Switzerland. There
are also a small community of Jews, Palestinian Christians, and Arab
MuslimsMuslims (in particular Palestinians).
0.23% of the population are of full indigenous origin, the ethnic
groups are Kakawira which represents 0.07% of the total country's
population, then (Pipil) 0.06%, (Lenca) 0.04% and others minors groups
0.06%. Very few Amerindians have retained their customs and
traditions, having over time assimilated into the dominant
Mestizo/Spanish culture.[89]
There is a small
Afro-Salvadoran that is 0.13% of the total
population, with Blacks having traditionally been prevented from
immigrating via government policies.[90][91]
Among the immigrant groups in El Salvador, Palestinian Christians
stand out.[92] Though few in number, their descendants have attained
great economic and political power in the country, as evidenced by the
election of ex-president Antonio Saca, whose opponent in the 2004
election, Schafik Handal, was also of Palestinian descent, and the
flourishing commercial, industrial, and construction firms owned by
this ethnic group.
As of 2004[update], there were approximately 3.2 million Salvadorans
living outside El Salvador, with the
United StatesUnited States traditionally being
the destination of choice for Salvadoran economic migrants. By 2012,
there were about 2.0 million Salvadoran immigrants and Americans of
Salvadoran descent in the U.S.,[93][94] making them the sixth largest
immigrant group in the country.[95] The second destinatation of
SalvadoransSalvadorans living outside is Guatemala, with more than 111,000
persons, mainly in
GuatemalaGuatemala City.
SalvadoransSalvadorans also live in other
nearby countries such as Belize,
HondurasHonduras and Nicaragua.[96] Other
countries with notable Salvadoran communities include Canada, Mexico,
the United Kingdom (including the Cayman Islands), Sweden, Brazil,
Italy, Colombia, and Australia.
Languages
Spanish is the official language and is spoken by virtually all
inhabitants. Some indigenous people speak their native tongues (such
as Nawat and Maya), but indigenous
SalvadoransSalvadorans who do not identify as
mestizo constitute only 1% of the country's population. However, all
of them can speak Spanish. Q'eqchi' is spoken by immigrants of
Guatemalan and Belizean indigenous people living in El Salvador. There
have also been recent large migrations of
HonduransHondurans and Nicaraguans
into the country.[97]
The local Spanish vernacular is called Caliche.
SalvadoransSalvadorans use voseo,
which is also used in Argentina, Costa Rica,
NicaraguaNicaragua and Uruguay.
This refers to the use of "vos" as the second person pronoun, instead
of "tú". "Caliche" is considered informal, and a few people choose
not to use it. Nawat is an indigenous language that has survived,
though it is only used by small communities of some elderly
SalvadoransSalvadorans in western El Salvador.
Largest cities
Further information: List of cities in El Salvador

The majority of the population in
El SalvadorEl Salvador is Christian. Roman
Catholics (47%) and
ProtestantsProtestants (33%) are the two major denominations
in the country.[99] Those not affiliated with any religious group
amount to 17% of the population.[99] The remainder of the population
(3%) is made up of Jehovah's Witnesses, Hare Krishnas, Muslims, Jews,
Buddhists, Latter-day Saints, and those adhering to indigenous
religious beliefs.[99] The number of evangelicals in the country is
growing rapidly.[100]
Health
For the period between 2005 and 2010,
El SalvadorEl Salvador had the third lowest
birth rate in Central America, with 22.8 births per 1,000. However,
during the same period, it had the highest death rate in Central
America, 5.9 deaths per 1,000. According to the most recent United
Nations survey, life expectancy for men was 68 years and 74 years for
women. Healthy life expectancy was 57 for males and 62 for females in
2003.[101]
Education
Further information: Education in El Salvador

Dr. Prudencio Llach Observatory

The public education system in
El SalvadorEl Salvador is severely lacking in
resources. Class sizes in public schools can be as large as 50
children per classroom.
SalvadoransSalvadorans who can afford the cost often
choose to send their children to private schools, which are regarded
as being better-quality than public schools. Most private schools
follow American, European or other advanced systems. Lower-income
families are forced to rely on public education.[citation needed]
Education in El SalvadorEducation in El Salvador is free through high school. After nine years
of basic education (elementary–middle school), students have the
option of a two-year high school or a three-year high school. A
two-year high school prepares the student for transfer to a
university. A three-year high school allows the student to graduate
and enter the workforce in a vocational career, or to transfer to a
university to further their education in their chosen field.[102]
Universities in
El SalvadorEl Salvador include a central public institution, the
Universidad de El Salvador, and many other specialised private
universities.
Crime
Main article: Crime in El Salvador

Since the early twenty-first century,
El SalvadorEl Salvador has experienced high
crime rates, including gang-related crimes and juvenile
delinquency.[103] Some say that this was a result of the deportation
of thousands of
SalvadoransSalvadorans from the U.S, the majority of whom were
members of
MS-13MS-13 (Mara Salvatrucha, or La Mara), in the mid-1990s. The
gangs in which
SalvadoransSalvadorans had been involved in the United States
began to show up in El Salvador.[104]
El SalvadorEl Salvador has one of the highest murder rates in the world.[105] El
Salvador is also considered an epicenter of a gang crisis, along with
GuatemalaGuatemala and Honduras.[106] In response to this, the government has
set up countless programs to try to guide the youth away from gang
membership; so far its efforts have not produced any quick results.
One of the government programs was a gang reform called "Super Mano
Dura" (Super Firm Hand). Super Mano Dura had little success and was
highly criticized by the UN. It saw temporary success in 2004 but then
saw a rise in crime after 2005. In 2004, the rate of intentional
homicides per 100,000 citizens was 41, with 60% of the homicides
committed being gang-related.[106]
The Salvadoran government reported that the Super Mano Dura gang
legislation led to a 14% drop in murders in 2004. However, El Salvador
had 66 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in 2012, more than triple the
rate in
MexicoMexico that year.[107][108][109] There are an estimated 25,000
gang members at large in
El SalvadorEl Salvador with another 9,000 in
prison.[107] The most well-known gangs, called "maras" in colloquial
Spanish, are
Mara SalvatruchaMara Salvatrucha and their rivals Calle 18. Maras are
hunted by death squads including Sombra Negra. New rivals also include
the rising mara, The Rebels 13.[110]
As of March 2012,
El SalvadorEl Salvador has seen a 40% drop in crime due to what
the Salvadoran government called a gang truce; however, extortions
affecting small businesses are not taken into account. In early 2012,
there were on average of 16 killings per day; in late March of that
year that number dropped to fewer than 5 per day. On April 14, 2012
for the first time in over 3 years there were no killings in El
Salvador.[111] Overall, there were 411 killings in January 2012, and
in March the number was 188, more than a 40% reduction,[112] while
crime in neighboring
HondurasHonduras had risen to an all-time high.[113] In
2014, crime rose 56% in El Salvador, with the government attributing
the rise to a break in the truce between the two major gangs in El
Salvador, which began having turf wars.[114]
Presently, the Alto al Crimen or
Crime StoppersCrime Stoppers program is in
operation and provides financial rewards for information leading to
the capture of gang leadership. The reward often ranges between $100
and $500 US Dollars per call.[115]
Culture
Main article: Culture of El Salvador

MestizoMestizo culture dominates the country, heavy in both Native American
Indigenous and European Spanish influences. A new composite population
was formed as a result of intermarrying between the native
MesoamericanMesoamerican population of
CuzcatlanCuzcatlan with the European settlers. The
Catholic ChurchCatholic Church plays an important role in the Salvadoran culture.
Archbishop
Óscar Romero is a national hero for his role in resisting
human rights violations that were occurring in the lead-up to the
Salvadoran Civil War.[116] Significant foreign personalities in El
Salvador were the
JesuitJesuit priests and professors Ignacio Ellacuría,
Ignacio Martín-Baró, and Segundo Montes, who were murdered in 1989
by the
Salvadoran ArmySalvadoran Army during the height of the civil war.
Painting, ceramics and textiles are the principal manual artistic
mediums. Writers
Francisco Gavidia (1863–1955),
Salarrué (Salvador
Salazar Arrué) (1899–1975), Claudia Lars, Alfredo Espino, Pedro
Geoffroy Rivas, Manlio Argueta, José Roberto Cea, and poet Roque
Dalton are among the most important writers from El Salvador. Notable
20th-century personages include the late filmmaker Baltasar Polio,
female film director Patricia Chica, artist Fernando Llort, and
caricaturist Toño Salazar.
Amongst the more renowned representatives of the graphic arts are the
painters Augusto Crespin, Noe Canjura, Carlos Cañas, Giovanni Gil,
Julia Díaz, Mauricio Mejia, Maria Elena Palomo de Mejia, Camilo
Minero, Ricardo Carbonell, Roberto Huezo, Miguel Angel Cerna, (the
painter and writer better known as MACLo), Esael Araujo, and many
others. For more information on prominent citizens of El Salvador,
check the List of Salvadorans.
Public holidays
See also: List of festivals in El Salvador

Celebration of La Fiestas Patrias in Las Chinamas

Holidays

Date
English name
Local name
Observance

March/April
Holy Week/Easter
Semana Santa
Celebrated with Carnival-like events in different cities by the large
Catholic population.

May 1
Labor Day
Día del trabajo
International Labor Day

May 3
The Day of the Cross
Día de la Cruz
A celebration with precolonial origins, linked to the advent of the
rainy season. People decorate a cross in their yards with fruit and
garlands, in the belief that if they do not, the devil will appear and
dance at their yard. They then go from house to house to kneel in
front of the altar and make the sign of the cross.

May 7
Soldiers' Day
Día del Soldado
Marks the founding of its armed forces in 1824.

May 10
Mother's Day
Día de las Madres
A day to celebrate motherhood, similar to many other countries
Mother's Day.

June 17
Father's Day
Día del Padre
A day to celebrate fatherhood, similar to other countries Father's
Day.

August 1–7
August Festivals
Fiestas de agosto
Week-long festival in celebration of
El SalvadorEl Salvador del Mundo, patron
saint of San Salvador.

November 2
Day of the Dead
El día de los difuntos
A day when most people visit the tombs of deceased loved ones.
(November 1 may be commemorated as well.)

November 7–13
National
PupusaPupusa Festival
Festival Nacional De La Pupusa
This week is the national commemoration of the national food (Pupusa).

November 21
Day of the Queen of Peace
Dia de la Reina de la Paz
Day of the Queen of Peace, the patron saint. Also celebrated, the San
Miguel Carnival, (carnaval de San Miguel), celebrated in San Miguel
City, similar to Mardi Gras of New Orleans, where one can enjoy about
45 music bands on the street.

December 25
ChristmasChristmas Day (Celebrated Dec. 24th)
Noche Buena
In many communities, December 24 (
ChristmasChristmas Eve) is the major day of
celebration, often to the point that it is considered the actual day
of Navidad — with December 25 serving as a day of rest.

December 31
New Year's Eve
Fin de año
The final day of the Gregorian year, and the day before New Year's Day
is celebrated in
El SalvadorEl Salvador with family reunions.

Cuisine
Main article: Salvadoran cuisine

Pupusas, the national and most famous dish of El Salvador.

Sopa de pata

One of El Salvador's notable dishes is the pupusa. Pupusas are
handmade corn tortillas (made of masa de maíz or masa de arroz, a
maize or rice flour dough used in Latin American cuisine) stuffed with
one or more of the following: cheese (usually a soft Salvadoran cheese
such as quesillo, similar to mozzarella), chicharrón, or refried
beans. Sometimes the filling is queso con loroco (cheese combined with
loroco, a vine flower bud native to Central America).[117]
Pupusas revueltas are pupusas filled with beans, cheese and pork.
There are also vegetarian options. Some adventurous restaurants even
offer pupusas stuffed with shrimp or spinach. The name pupusa comes
from the Pipil-Nahuatl word, pupushahua. The precise origins of the
pupusa are debated, although its presence in
El SalvadorEl Salvador is known to
predate the arrival of the Spaniards.[117]
Two other typical Salvadoran dishes are yuca frita and panes con
pollo. Yuca frita is deep fried cassava root served with curtido (a
pickled cabbage, onion and carrot topping) and pork rinds with
pescaditas (fried baby sardines). The Yuca is sometimes served boiled
instead of fried. Pan con pollo/pavo (bread with chicken/turkey) are
warm turkey or chicken-filled submarine sandwiches. The bird is
marinated and then roasted with Pipil spices and handpulled. This
sandwich is traditionally served with tomato and watercress along with
cucumber, onion, lettuce, mayonnaise, and mustard.
One of El Salvador's typical breakfasts is fried plantain, usually
served with cream. It is common in Salvadoran restaurants and homes,
including those of immigrants to the United States.
Alguashte, a condiment made from dried, ground pepitas, is commonly
incorporated into savoury and sweet Salvadoran dishes.
"Maria Luisa" is a dessert commonly found in El Salvador. It is a
layered cake that is soaked in orange marmalade and sprinkled with
powdered sugar.
A popular drink that
SalvadoransSalvadorans enjoy is Horchata, a drink native to
the
Valencian CommunityValencian Community in Spain.
HorchataHorchata is most commonly made of
the morro seed ground into a powder and added to milk or water, and
sugar.
HorchataHorchata is drank year-round, and can be drank at any time of
day. It mostly is accompanied by a plate of pupusas or fried yuca.
HorchataHorchata from
El SalvadorEl Salvador has a very distinct taste and is not to be
confused with Mexican horchata, which is rice-based.
CoffeeCoffee is also a
common morning beverage.[118]
Other popular drinks in
El SalvadorEl Salvador include Ensalada, a drink made of
chopped fruit swimming in fruit juice, and Kolachampan, a sugar
cane-flavored carbonated beverage.
One of the most popular desserts is the cake Pastel de tres leches
(Cake of three milks), consisting of three types of milk: evaporated
milk, condensed milk, and cream.
Music
Main article: Music of El Salvador
Salvadoran music is a mixture of indigenous Lenca, Maya, Cacaopera,
Pipil and Spanish influences. Music includes religious songs (mostly
used to celebrate
ChristmasChristmas and other holidays, especially feast days
of the saints). Satirical and rural lyrical themes are common. Cuban,
Colombian, and Mexican music has infiltrated the country, especially
salsa and cumbia. Popular music in
El SalvadorEl Salvador uses marimba, tehpe'ch,
flutes, drums, scrapers and gourds, as well as more recently imported
guitars and other instruments. El Salvador's well known folk dance is
known as Xuc which originated in Cojutepeque, Cuscatlan. Other musical
repertoire consists of danza, pasillo, marcha and canciones.
Sport

Main article: Sport in El Salvador
Football is the most popular sport in El Salvador. The El Salvador
national football team qualified for the
FIFA World CupFIFA World Cup in 1970 and
1982. Their qualification for the 1970 tournament was marred by the
Football War, a war against Honduras, whose team El Salvador's had
defeated.
The national football team play at the
Estadio CuscatlánEstadio Cuscatlán in San
Salvador. It opened in 1976 and seats 53,400, making it the largest
stadium in
Central AmericaCentral America and the Caribbean.[119]
See also